The sad piano
by TMP145
Summary: On a lonely night the sad piano can be heard. Each Avenger thinks of different things as the soft echoes surrounds them. The sweet melodies Tony creates as he plays the piano sends his crazy little family into a state of happy despair.


Hey, so this is my first story, i dont know i was listening to a sad piano song and kind of wrote this as i listened. Sorry if its no good. **For the full benefit i recommend listening to this song 'Final breath' from the Child of light album by the cœur de pirate as that is the song i was listening to as i wrote this.** So yeah, enjoy!

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The Avengers have only ever heard Tony Stark play the piano once, but they never speak of it. It was Steve who heard it first, but it was Bruce who found a broken Tony softly playing the piano as the tears streamed down his face and the stench of whisky hung in the air. The sad piano echoed in the vast space that was the Avengers tower and woke each member of this odd little family. Each person woke feeling something different. Steve woke feeling sorrow and happy as the sickly sweet melody took him back to Peggy. Each gentle note was like a dagger in Steve's heart as he remembered the sent of Peggy's beautiful brown hair or as he thought of how soft her hands were but at the same time was like greeting an old friend. With each key Tony pressed, Steve's heart slowly broke and was then put back together as he thought about how sad he is its over but about how happy he is it happened. He stays there listening to the soft piano until he was left crying gently into his pillow with nothing but the sad piano to keep him company.

The next person to hear it was Natasha. Much like Steve the soft piano took her back to her younger years. But unlike Steve, Natasha wasn't full of regret and sorrow about what was she was full of gratitude as the soft piano took her back to that room. The red room. The sound of the gentle rain tapping on the window and the soft music Tony was creating reminded her of the Ballet dances she used to do. It reminded her of how she would glide across the floor, as graceful as the most elegant bird taking flight. But unlike most times when she remembered the red room, she didn't remember the pain she felt, she didn't remember the sorrow that built up inside her as she headed towards the graduation ceremony, she didn't think about the tears she shed after it. Because as the faint piano played she remembered how she danced, she remembered her first pair of Ballet shoes, she thought about how far she's come since then. But mostly she thought of how Clint saw her there and saved her by sparing her life. Unlike Steve she thought of the past but it didn't make her sad or angry, it made her grateful that she found her best friend and gets to spend every day with him, it made her grateful that she's not in that red room now.

At this point Clint too had woken up. At first he was confused about where the piano was coming from so he started to walk towards his door and as he cracked it open just enough so he could see the room, everything seemed to stop. He could see Bruce in his door way trying to hide from the crying Avenger playing the piano, but from the crease in Bruce's faced caused from where he was leaning against the door too hard, Clint could tell he had been there a while just watching Tony play and so he knew that he too should hide. Or at least thats what he liked to think, he mostly hid because the piano made him think of a sad clown that used to work at the circus, it reminded him of how he would find the crying clown in the middle of the circus tent playing sad songs in the middle of the night. It reminded him of how he used to cry too. Reminded him of how he cried and cried because he just wanted a home, he wanted his brother and how he wanted a family. But now at least the tears he sheds are tears of laughter or tears of joy, both caused by this odd bunch of people he now calls a family.

The second Thor heard the piano he was awake, to begin with he was scared because he thought Loki was there. After scanning the room he realised that Loki was no where to be seen and would never been seen again. Thats when he started to pay attention to the music. Tonys melancholic playing made him think of Loki. It made him think of the way Loki used to play this exact song to his mother. The quiet piano music reminded him of the days where Loki would drag him into the music room to listen to a new song he had learned. He thought of how much he would like to hear Loki play again, just once more. But he also thought about his new family. He thought about his brothers Tony, Clint and Bruce and he thought about his little sister Natasha. He thought about how happy this crazy little family has made him and he sat there listening to the sad piano crying both because of his lost brother and because of his new family.

Bruce, perhaps came away from the music the most confused. After finding his science bro distraught and playing the piano like nothing else mattered to him, he hid behind his bedroom door not wanting to be seen. He didn't want Tony to stop playing, so he hid and he watched, but mostly he listened. You see after spending so much time with Tony, Bruce knew him the best and so it was Bruce and only Bruce who realised what the song truly meant. Bruce was the only one who didn't think of the past, in fact Bruce didn't think of anything to do with himself at all, he thought only of Tony. He thought about what Tony was trying to tell the world through this song. And he listened. He heard Tony tell the world how broken he felt, he heard Tony tell the world how lonely he is and he heard Tony tell the team how much he loves them. He heard Tony tell the world how he couldn't live without his strange little family. And yet not a single word was spoke, only the soft echo of the sad piano.

The next day, the team came into the kitchen each weary eyed and happy from the night before. Eventually they had all realised that it was Tony playing the sad piano, so they looked to him expecting to see tear stained cheeks or him with a fake smile because how could anybody be happy after creating such peaceful and heartbreaking melodies. But no, Tony stood there with a smile as bright as the stars, he stood there with his eyes brighter the reflection of the moon of the sea. A happy Tony stood there with a waffle in his hand, a coffee in the other and a constant smile. So the team didn't mention it, they didn't ask about the sad piano, and Tony didn't say anything about it. So there it remained a unspoken secret between the team. No body said anything and no body ever would. Because all though they all heard the sad piano echo in the night , all though they all thought of the peace, sorrow and happiness the sad piano brought them. They all thought of how they wanted nothing more then to hear it again.


End file.
